INTRODUCTION

In June, 1998 six JCCC staff and students enjoyed a memorable three-week academic exchange visit to Russia. Fortunately, I was selected as one of the lucky participants. Many people have asked me to share my impressions of Russia, so I've prepared this brief page to describe a few of our adventures and offer some advice for future visitors. Mainly, I am writing this page as a tribute to the wonderful and unforgettable Russian people.

MOSCOW

Arriving in Moscow, we survived stern-faced scrutiny at Passport Control, an hour's wait for our luggage (some of which was lost), and a lengthy, slow-moving line at Customs before finally meeting Svetlana and Gulla, our wonderful Russian escorts. The rest of our time in Moscow was considerably more pleasant than our arrival. We enjoyed two great days of intensive sightseeing, visiting as many of the major tourist attractions as possible. The Kremlin, Red Square, St. Basil's cathedral and the Old Arbat were even more impressive than I'd heard and the Moscow subway was fast, clean and inexpensive.

While there were still vestiges of the Soviet bureaucracy in evidence, we found most Muscovites to be courteous, friendly and helpful, although not nearly as many of them spoke English as we'd have liked! Compared to the other Russian cities we visited, Moscow seemed almost like home, with its shops, restaurants and comparative affluence.

IZHEVSK

After a twenty-hour train ride across central Russia, we arrived to a warm greeting from our hosts in Izhevsk, capital of the Udmurt Republic. During our two week stay, we visited Udmurt State University and explored the region's social and cultural attractions. Living with Russian families throughout our visit, we learned firsthand about their culture, values and daily life and grew to appreciate their enduring spirit, sense of humor and resourcefulness.

Since Izhevsk was a closed city during the Cold War due to its armaments industry, it experienced fewer western influences than Moscow or St. Petersburg and was more typically "Russian" than many other cities. We knew right away that we weren't in Kansas any more! However, western culture is making inroads into local life, with SUVs and mini-vans sharing the roads with Lada Sputniks and old, lumbering Russian trucks and impossibly crowded busses. The sight of open-air markets selling Pepsi, Lay's potato chips and Hall's cough drops alongside dried fish and open bins of sunflower seeds and eucalyptus leaves offered further evidence of changing times. However, we saw few western-style hotels or restaurants, and only one ATM-equipped bank existed in the entire Udmurt Republic!

There is a major effort in Izhevsk to reestablish its native Udmurtian art and culture. We visited a restored Udmurt village museum outside Izhevsk and enjoyed an evening at the Udmurt Folklore Ensemble's "Italmas" folk music program. Another high point of our visit was a tour of the new Udmurt Culture Centre, where we watched linen being hand-woven on old looms and had the opportunity to buy authentic native art and craft pieces. It was wonderful to have an opportunity to share in this resurgence of regional pride and history.

SAINT PETERSBURG

After an emotional farewell to our hosts in Izhevsk, we "enjoyed" another lengthy (thirty-hour) train ride to St. Petersburg. Since the train had no dining car, we survived on tea, Cup-A-Soup, cookies, crackers, fruit and anything else we'd had the foresight to bring or the quickness to buy on the platform during stops.

In St. Petersburg, we spent several more days visiting Northwest Polytechnic Institute, attending local cultural events and sightseeing. St. Petersburg is a beautiful city built on a grand scale, with its many museums, monuments, churches and other attractions spread out over miles of city streets. While Izhevsk had few foreign visitors, St. Petersburg was full of them, with tour busses lining the streets at every major attraction and large crowds in the restaurants and gift shops.

Like our other destinations in Russia, St. Petersburg was a mix of wealth, poverty, grandeur and decay. One could attend an outstanding professional ballet in the evening and observe classically-trained opera singers and musicians performing for handouts on the street the next day; the road to the glorious Peterhof was lined in places with drab and crumbling apartment complexes.

SHOPPING

I have been asked many times about shopping in Russia. Since there isn't much of a national distribution system for consumer goods, one cannot count on an item always being available throughout the country. Therefore, if you see something you want to buy, get it when you can; don't assume you'll be able to find it later.

We found many excellent values in Russia, especially in museum shops, culture centers and outdoor markets that often had excellent and inexpensive native Russian items. In Izhevsk, the University Art Department offered outstanding student work at very low prices, while the Udmurt Culture Centre had wonderful examples of regional native arts and crafts. Udmurt beer and vodka were excellent and inexpensive. On almost everything, prices and quality in Izhevsk beat Moscow and St. Petersburg.

The current economic situation in Russia has changed many aspects of life there and some of the preceding shopping information may no longer be valid. I have been told that the availability of domestic and foreign goods in Russia has decreased greatly and that prices are skyrocketing. I hope the current economic situation will not force the postponement of efforts in Udmurt and elsewhere to revitalize native art and culture.

CONCLUSION

While our trip was sometimes strenuous, it was a truly unique experience. The well-known Russian suspicion of outsiders was seldom evident to us; wherever we went, the Russians were outgoing and hospitable. They were happy to make friends with us, take us into their homes and make sure our plates and glasses were never empty. We were as impressed by the strength and character of the people as we were by the natural beauty of the countryside, with its magnificent forests, rivers and lakes. Everything about Russia was unforgettable, but most of all we will remember the warm and generous people who made our visit special.

The photographs at the top of this page were taken in and around Izhevsk. I hope they adequately communicate the special qualities of the Russian people and countryside we encountered. Thanks to JCCC's Rory Dyrness for composing the photo colection for this page!

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Here are some links to other sources of information about Russian travel, Udmurt and Izhevsk that you may find useful.

The U. S. State Department web site offers a wide variety of helpful information for Americans traveling abroad.

Health and medical advice for travelers in Eastern Europe and Russia is available from the Centers for Disease Control.

Expediamaps has good maps of Udmurt and the surrounding region.

The latest weather conditions and forecasts for Russia, including Moscow, Izhevsk and St. Petersburg can be accessed from Yahoo's weather site.

As listed earlier, here are links to the official web sites of the Udmurt Republic and Udmurt State University.

The Russlinks site has the most extensive group of links to Russian and Russia-related web sites I've seen anywhere.

Finally, here is another regional site with a great deal of information and links about Udmurt and Izhevsk.

Thanks for visiting my page about Russia! You can send me e-mail at dscott@ johnco.cc.ks.us

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Revised 01/08/02